offwegooo.com
Travel guide
Évian and the Chablais
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: May to September
offwegooo.comPrint it, fold it, take it with you
Welcome
Évian and the Chablais, in a few days
Évian faces Lausanne across Lake Geneva, 35 minutes away by boat. You drink from the Cachat spring and ride the funicular up to the old grand hotels, then the Chablais takes over: the ramparts of Yvoire, Ripaille castle, the Pont du Diable gorge and the Dent d'Oche above Bernex.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · The Cachat spring and pump room free · a few minutesÉvian's story starts in 1789, when a count credited this spring with curing his kidney stones and its owner, Cachat, began charging for the water.
- Afternoon · Boat to Lausanne · half a dayA 35-minute commuter crossing to Lausanne-Ouchy among cross-border workers, with the Lavaux vineyard terraces ahead and the Chablais mountains behind Évian on the way back.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Mid-range hotels in Évian and the ChablaisBooking
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Évian funicular free · about 1 hBuilt in 1913 to carry spa guests up to the grand hotels, closed in 1969 and reopened in 2002, with listed original Von Roll cars.
- Afternoon · Château de Ripaille · about 1 h 30A lakeside castle near Thonon holding six centuries of Savoy history, where Amadeus VIII retired in 1434 and founded the Order of Saint Maurice.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Mid-range hotels in Évian and the ChablaisBooking
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Yvoire free · about 1 h 30A medieval village on a point dividing the lake's two basins, fortified by Amadeus V of Savoy after 1306, still entered by its two gates.
- Afternoon · Garden of the Five Senses · about 1 hThe castle's old kitchen garden, open since 1988: a hedged maze with a room for each sense, and herbs to crush between your fingers.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Mid-range hotels in Évian and the ChablaisBooking
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Pont du Diable gorge · about 45 minThe Dranse has cut a narrow limestone canyon choked with glacial boulders, one wedged between the walls to form the Devil's Bridge.
- Afternoon · Dent d'Oche free · a full dayA 2,221-metre tooth of rock seen from all along the lake, climbed from above Bernex past the Oche chalets and their mountain cheese.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Mid-range hotels in Évian and the ChablaisBooking
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
Some links are partner links: we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Baguette: the daily bread, bought fresh from the boulangerie. Ask for a "tradition", made with nothing but flour, water, salt and yeast.
- Croissant and pain au chocolat: breakfast pastries, best in the morning while still warm.
- The cheese course: served after the main dish and before dessert, from Comté to Camembert.
- Steak frites: the bistro standard. Order it "saignant" for rare or "à point" for medium.
- Galettes and crêpes: savoury buckwheat pancakes from Brittany filled with ham, egg and cheese, then sweet ones for pudding.
- House wine: ordered by the carafe or the "pichet" at lunch, and often better value than a bottle.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Say "bonjour" when you walk into a shop, a bakery or a café, and "au revoir" as you leave. Skipping it comes across as rude.
- Lunch runs from about noon to 2pm and dinner starts around 7.30pm. In between, most restaurant kitchens are closed.
- Most shops close on Sunday, and many small towns shut on Monday too. Bakeries and markets open on Sunday morning.
- Do not pay for bottled water at the table: ask for "une carafe d'eau", tap water that is served free with a meal.
- Around the big Paris sights, walk past anyone with a petition or a friendship bracelet. They are there to distract you while someone else takes your wallet.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ French
| English | French |
|---|---|
| Hello | Bonjour |
| Thank you | Merci |
| Please | S'il vous plaît |
| Yes | Oui |
| No | Non |
| Excuse me | Excusez-moi |
| Goodbye | Au revoir |
| Do you speak English? | Parlez-vous anglais ? |
| I don't understand | Je ne comprends pas |
| How much is it? | Combien ça coûte ? |
| Where are the toilets? | Où sont les toilettes ? |
| The bill, please | L'addition, s'il vous plaît |
| Help! | Au secours ! |
| Cheers! | Santé ! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyEuro (EUR, €)
BudgetAbout €125 a day, mid-range
Best seasonMay to September
PlugC/E · 230V
Tap waterSafe to drink
TippingService is included by law, round up
Emergency112
EntrySchengen area: an ID card or passport for EU citizens, 90 days visa-free for UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports.
HealthNo specific vaccination needed. Check that tetanus, diphtheria, polio and MMR are up to date.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/evian
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.